1921] BoDEN Kloss : Notes on Birds. 215 



of Banka Id.) is defined as from Sumatra to Borneo and 

 the islands along its east coast with all the intervening 

 islands ; also Bawean and various islets in the Java Sea. 

 Placed with this race must be a pair from Pulau Mapur, 

 the easternmost island in the Bhio Archipelago south of 

 Singapore, (wings 110 mm.). 



Apart from colour differences which I cannot find, 

 S. c. palmeri Oberh. (tom. cit. p. 368 : tvpe from Mt. Salak, 

 W. Java : supposed to be confined to Java), is said to be 

 distinguished from cyunescens by a slightly smaller bill : 

 the measurements given for the exposed culmen^ are : — 

 cyanescens (75 examples) 41. 5-47.3* -53.5 mm. ; palmeri 

 (25 specimens) 42.5-45.9 *-50 mm. [i.e., within the range 

 of cyanescens]. The bills from gape of my West Mid- 

 Sumatran specimens of cyanescens measure :- 52-56.4*- 

 ()() mm. ; of my Javan birds 55-57.2*-60 mm. : the converse 

 of Oberholser's findings. 



Averages seem to be untrustworthy as they differ 

 with different series : both series attain similar maxima 

 and the smaller-billed Sumatran birds may be immature 

 though they have no appearance of this. I cannot separate 

 the Javan birds before me from cyanescens : my series of 

 the former has a wing range of 103-116, and the latter 

 104-112 mm. 



HALCYON (ENTOMOTHERA) COROMANDA. 



Dr. Oberholser has also reviewed the races of the 

 Ruddy Kingfisher, Halcyon (Entomothera) coromanda 

 (op. cit. 48, 1915, pp. 639-657) and of Malaysian races which 

 he recognises, we have material of the following : — 



1. Halcyon coromanda coromanda (Lath.). 



Southern continental birds are all considered to belong 

 to this subspecies, which occupies Indo-China ajid the Malay 

 Peninsula, south to Malacca : Rangoon is selected for the 

 type locality. 



Tills is the largest of the Malaysian forms and the palest 

 both above and below, being not, or comparatively little, 

 washed with magenta on the breast [and on the upper 

 surface, especially the head]. The wing length ranges 

 from 111 to 119 mm. [Nine practically adult specimens 

 examined by Oberholser, five from India, one from China, 

 three from the Malay Peninsula]. 



' I do not like this measurement : the posterior point is not 

 iixecl as the forward spread of the frontal feathers, it is very 

 variable. For instance, in two birds which have the same length of 

 bill from the gape and from the anterior edge of the nostril, there 

 is a difference of 3 mm. in the length of the exposed culmen. Both 

 of the lengths mentioned, which are between fixed points, are 

 preferable. 



* Average. . 



